Glaze Digital have examined Google’s search results to reveal an exclusive snapshot of the search landscape for Car Dealers in Northern Ireland.

This report analyses which websites were most visible in the Google UK Natural Search listings when consumers searched for the most popular car-related terms.

In their analysis, they established that:

There are over 5.5 million car-related Google searches conducted within Northern Ireland a year

Around 73% of those contain either “ni” or “Northern Ireland”

Around 6% contain “Belfast”

The majority of other keywords offer non-location specific searches

Based on a sample of 700 keywords suggested by Google

Main Dealers in NI

Glaze Digital researched the total number Google searches for a selection of main dealers across Northern Ireland.

The Charles Hurst brand receives over 51k monthly searches, followed by Donnelly and Agnew with over 24k searches, and Sere with over 11k searches.

Most Popular Car Brands In Northern Ireland

Curious to know which car brands are most popular? Below are the most popular car brands in Northern Ireland based on search volumes:

10 Most Searched for Keywords Containing “NI”

There are over 4 million car-related Google searches containing either “ni” or “Northern Ireland” a year

usedcarsni.com was the most visible in the Natural Search space, achieving 28% of clicks for the top keywords containing “NI” – beating both Gumtree and Autotrader

charleshurstgroup.co.uk was the most visible car dealer, achieving 11% of clicks for the top keywords containing “NI”

They have analysed the search results for 10 of most searched for non-brand car related keywords containing “ni” or Northern Ireland”. These 10 keywords represent approximately 60% of the most frequent searches online which contain “ni” and “Northern Ireland”.

Having gathered website ranking information, they applied an estimated click-through rates to predict the traffic each ranking website will likely receive.

The Impact of “Used Cars NI”

The search landscape is heavily influenced by the keyword “used cars ni”

Approximately 40% of all car related searches come from the keyword “used cars ni” alone

Thirty times more people search “used cars ni” than “used cars”

As a result, where a website appears for “used carsni” has a huge impact on their potential traffic

However, “used car ni” is both a generic term and a website brand, meaning customers intent will be to go to usedcarsni.com

Therefore, the click-through rates may be lower than calculated for all sites bar usedcarsni.com.

To what extent does UsedCarsNI.com influence customer search behaviour?

Whilst it’s hard to say for certain, there are a few ways we can gather insight into the extent that usedcarsni.com impacts customer search intent.

* note, those in England don’t tend to add “England” when searching!

Looking at how the NI market compares with neighbouring countries show’s how radically different search behaviour is.

Typically, you would expect the ratios would be relatively similar

However, “used cars ni” is up at 97% – it’s searched for 30 times more than “car for sale ni”.

10 Most Searched for Keywords Containing “Belfast”

There are over 320k car-related Google searches containing “Belfast” in Northern Ireland a year

usedcarsni.com was the most visible in the Natural Search space, achieving 26% of clicks for the top keywords containing “Belfast” – beating Gumtree

charleshurstgroup.co.uk was the most visible car dealer, achieving 14% of clicks for the top keywords containing “Belfast” – beating Auto Trader

They have analysed the search results for 10 of most searched for non-brand car related keywords containing “Belfast”. These 10 keywords represent approximately 19% of the most frequent searches online containing “Belfast”.

Having gathered website ranking information, they applied an estimated click-through rate to predict the traffic each ranking website will likely receive.

Their Thoughts

While some dealers may not dominate for the most searched for generic, non-brand keywords, they will likely perform better for more relevant, targeted terms. For instance “car brand + model + location”. Ultimately, appearing for long tail keywords will result in high-quality visitors and sales leads. Attracting the right customers is always more important than driving large numbers of untargeted traffic.

So, while it may be tempting to fully optimise your website for “used cars ni”, a large majority of those searching are branded searches. Therefore, customers are less likely to click on all sites other than usedcarsni.com even if you do rank in the top positions, which will be highly challenging.

To drive quality traffic, focus on a site-wide search engine optimisation strategy. Ensure that all pages are optimised for their respective relevant makes, models and locations. Ensure websites offer customers a best-in-class user experience and promote showrooms through local online media and national car enthusiast websites.

There is room for everyone to appear in the search results, for the right keywords.

Dealers that don’t appear

We observed a number of car dealers who were optimised for specific car brands, more so than generic keywords & locations. Therefore, these dealers appear for “brand + location” keywords which were not investigated in this report.

About this report

How the data was compiled

Research has been conducted into the most frequently searched for generic, non-brand keywords. Search volumes provided by AdWords where we applied a Northern Ireland location filter where relevant.

Glaze recorded which websites appeared in Google.co.uk, and in what position, for our chosen keywords. We only looked at organic results – and did not account for local results (Google Map listings).

Then we applied an estimated, industry-specific click-through rate to generate traffic predicted traffic figures. The click-through rate curve was taken from AWR, Advanced Web Ranking Cloud.

Caveats

There are other ways and other tools which offer similar data. Each method and each platform will produce varied results. The numbers supplied are estimates based on publicly available data. Actual numbers will vary. Google positions will vary over time and may differ depending on users exact location.

Glaze Digital & SEO Services

Glaze Digital is a digital agency based in Belfast who provide SEO Services to help business improve their Organic Search visibility. Glaze Digital has created a series of reports to help digital marketers better understand the NI search landscape. If you would like further information about the report or would like a report for your industry you can contact Glaze to arrange a consultation.